James Bond 23 to be called 'Skyfall'

'Skyfall' is the name of the 23rd James Bond film, which will star Daniel
Craig, Bérénice Marlohe and Ralph Fiennes.

Albert Finney and Ralph Fiennes will be among the stars who will head the cast of the new James Bond film Skyfall, it was announced today.

Daniel Craig will again star as the superspy for a third time, while Dame Judi Dench returns once more as M. French actress and model Bérénice Marlohe is the new Bond Girl. English actress Naomie Harris plays a field agent called Eve.

The newJames Bondmovie will be called 'Skyfall' it was confirmed today. The film's name was leaked early by an eagle-eyed fan who spotted that Sony had registered a series of new online domain names including 'jamesbond-skyfall' and 'jamesbondskyfall'.

Producer Michael G Wilson said the title - officially confirmed today - was "the worst kept secret in London".

Craig, who has already starred in two films as the suave secret agent, said he would like to play 007 for "a few more years".

He said: "Being lucky enough to get the chance to do a third one, it is my intention to make the best Bond movie we possibly could - and Bond with a capital B - and I'm just incredibly proud to be part of this group of people."

Director Sam Mendes - who admitted he had been a fan of the films since childhood - said the film would be shot in London, Turkey, China and Scotland. "There's lots of surprises," Mendes said.

Finney has already been a villainous star of rival Bourne film franchise, but movies bosses would not go into detail about his or Fiennes' roles in the new Bond film.

French actress Marlohe said her character would be "glamorous" and "enigmatic".

Harris revealed she has been in training for the role, saying: "I've been doing yoga three times a week to get into shape and stunt-driving and firing machine guns, which I've discovered I've got a real taste for".

Producer Barbara Broccoli said they had been "considering various people" to perform the film's theme music but had not made any decision.

James Bond returns with the launch of the 23rd instalment in the famous film franchise, and aims to bounce back after a studio bankruptcy put production on hold for months and the last movie earned mixed reviews.

Sony Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp, will distribute the film, which is set to hit British cinemas on Oct 26, 2012 and US cinemas on Nov 9.

Next year is the 50th anniversary of the series, which began in 1962 with Sean Connery on Her Majesty's secret service in "Dr. No". Today marks 50 years since Sean Connery was announced to be the first James Bond.

Debt-laden Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc, known for its roaring lion logo and behind some of Hollywood's most fabled films including "The Wizard of Oz", filed for bankruptcy in November last year.